Reading: the manuals, APP and PNLD

Policing in England and Wales is learned from a small set of texts. This page says what each one is, who can read it and what the College of Policing says about it, so a recruit or a candidate knows where the syllabus actually lives. It is educational information, not a reading list for sale.

Blackstone's

The College's candidate handbook for the 2026 sergeants' and inspectors' legal examinations (published September 2025) describes a single three-hour paper of 150 multiple-choice questions across three areas: crime, evidence and procedure, and general police duties. The syllabus is cross-referenced to, and contained only within, the 2026 edition of the Blackstone's Police Manuals, in three volumes matching those areas. The handbook states that "these texts are the only official resource endorsed by the College of Policing and contain the required legal knowledge for prospective sergeants and inspectors." Questions are drawn solely from the manuals, and candidates are told not to rely on earlier editions.

The handbook is also clear about what the College does not endorse. Other products, including the Blackstone's Q&As, are not affiliated with the College. The exam is not aimed at pure recall of the tables in the manuals, but where the text refers to a paragraph of a PACE Code, candidates are expected to know that provision. Practice questions and revision guidance sit in a Knowledge Hub group that candidates join through their force examinations officer.

For recruits, the student text is different. Middlesex University's guide for its police degree programmes says the Blackstone's Handbook for Policing Students is given to each student as a print copy to keep. A pocket-sized Blackstone's Police Operational Handbook 2026 and a counter-terrorism handbook are listed among PNLD's publications.

Authorised Professional Practice

Authorised Professional Practice (APP) is the College's consolidated guidance, launched in October 2013 to bring existing knowledge products into one online format. At launch it covered 14 domains, among them armed policing, detention and custody, investigation, public order, roads policing, critical incident management and the National Decision Model. It is published online and readable on a phone or tablet. Material marked restricted, covering covert policing, counter-terrorism and protected persons, is not in the public domain and is available to officers and staff through secure networks. The Middlesex guide calls APP the official source of professional practice for policing.

PNLD

The Police National Legal Database (PNLD) holds current legislation, including Acts, common law, regulations, orders and byelaws, summaries of relevant cases, and the national standard offence wordings and codes. Officers and staff reach it free through their force's subscription, on their own devices; other organisations subscribe commercially. PNLD also publishes a quarterly topic guide, monthly legal articles and a Definitions and Points to Prove booklet, with a 2026 edition.

Free material

Two PNLD elements are open to anyone. Ask the Police carries over 900 questions and answers on crime and legal matters. The booklet and handbooks above are distributed to officers, staff, volunteers and the public.

The Open University's Department for Policing publishes 44 free items on OpenLearn, filterable by topic, type, level and length, from short activities to full courses such as Understanding PCSO Powers. The page does not claim alignment with the College curriculum.

How this site fits

This site is a free, sourced reference and a reading map, not a substitute for the syllabus texts. Use it to find the Act, Code or College document behind a topic, then read that document. The examination pages are at the exams and the recruit curriculum at the ten units.